Over 1,000 delegates attend Chinese Investment Forum at Prague Castle

A two-day Chinese Investment Forum has got underway at Prague Castle
attended by over 500 Chinese and 700 Czech and other European delegates,
including many senior politicians and businesspeople. The morning session
of the conference on Thursday began with speeches from the Czech prime
minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, and China’s first deputy prime minister,
Zhang Gaoli. Czech President Miloš Zeman will be among the guests at a
gala evening at Prague Castle’s Spanish Hall on Thursday evening. The
investment forum is the biggest event of its kind held in the Czech
Republic.

Police crack down on large-scale supplier of materials for illicit
drug-production

Detectives from the national anti-drugs squad have cracked down on a large
scale-supplier of materials for the illicit production of drugs. The
forty-one year old owner of a chain of shops selling chemical supplies was
arrested at the end of July, but the police have only now revealed details
of the case which is unprecedented on Czech scale. The chain of shops
around the country served as a smoke screen and all contained large
quantities of chemicals needed for the illegal production of crystal
methamphetamine. According to a police spokesman the chemicals confiscated
during the police raids could have made drugs with a street value of two
and a half billion crowns.

President says country needs strong national supermarket chain

President Miloš Zeman has come out in support of a strong national
supermarket chain which would favour Czech-made products and help local
producers. Speaking at the opening of the annual agricultural food fair
Země Živitelka on Thursday, criticized to sales policy of supra-national
chains and their growing profit margins. He noted that while 15 years ago
the profit margin on a bread roll was around 15 percent, now it is 63
percent and pretty much the same goes for other commodities. At present the
only national chain is Coop which is too small to stand up to the
supranational giants on the market.

Petition asks pardon for nurse who is suspected of having performed
euthanasia

Several dozen people have signed an internet petition requesting a
presidential pardon for the nurse who is said to have performed euthanasia
on a terminally ill patient. Among the signatories are both people who
claim to know her in person and complete strangers. The case has triggered
a heated debate about euthanasia on social networks. The nurse who
allegedly gave her patient a higher amount of drugs to assist her death,
has been charged with murder. If convicted she would face a sentence of up
to 18 years.

Czech living standards drop slightly

Living standards in the Czech Republic dropped slightly last year as
compared to the original 15 eurozone countries, with the country’s per
capita GDP dropping to 74.1 percent of the EU average, the Czech Statistics
Office reported. The figure had been at 75 percent for the three previous
years. Czech households recorded the third consecutive decrease in net
incomes last year. According to Czech Finance Ministry estimates living
standards in the Czech Republic are expected to see moderate growth again
this year.

Police release fresh details on acid attack case

Police on Thursday released fresh details on the case of a woman who
suffered an acid attack in Prague earlier this week. The woman was
allegedly attacked by her ex-boyfriend whom she had broken up with shortly
before the incident. It took the police some time to track the man down
since he had been living with the woman under a false name. He has been
charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm for which he could be
sentenced to 12 years in prison. The woman remains in hospital in serious
condition.

Social Affairs ministry wants more support for parents of multiples

The Social Affairs and Labour Ministry is drafting a proposed amendment to
the law which should help the parents of twins, triplets and other
multiples who are financially disadvantaged under the present system of
state aid. Under the proposal the state would cover the expenses for a
nanny and increase the one-off state bonus for the birth of two or more
children. According to Social Affairs Minister Michaela Marksová Tominová
it is unfair and illogical that the parents of more children from one birth
are financially worse off than parents who have the same number of children
in succession. The problem was highlighted in particular with the birth of
quintuplets to a Czech mother last year.

Government fails to agree position on smoking ban

The government has failed to reach a joint position on a ban on smoking in
pubs and restaurants. Coalition party ANO is pushing for a blanket ban but
after a debate on the matter on Wednesday the cabinet issued a statement
saying that while there was general agreement on the idea it preferred a
broader amendment that the minister of health, Svatopluk Němeček, is due
to produce by the end of the year. Numerous attempts to introduce such a
prohibition in the past have come to nothing. An estimated 30 percent of
Czechs smoke cigarettes, with around 18,000 people dying as a result of
smoking in this country annually.

Czech base jumper Martin Trdla dies in tragic accident

The country’s leading base jumper Martin Trdla died in an accident on
Snežka mountain on Thursday, the ctk news agency reported. Trdla
apparently lost control after jumping from a powered hand glider and fell
from a height of several hundred metres, landing on the Polish side of
Snežka mountain. A mountain rescue team confirmed his identity.